|
Dolphins Head Coach Tony Sparano
It is a few days before the showdown in New England against the Patriots and Coach Tony Sparano takes a look at this pivotal AFC East match-up as well as a variety of other topics in this exclusive interview with Dolphin Digest editor Andy Cohen for MiamiDolphins.com.
Q. You have now swept the Jets this season. Do you have any idea what that means to the Dolphins fan base?
TS: I would say that I'm learning about that rivalry and how much that means to the fan base. I'm still new to this whole rivalry thing with the Jets, but I do know how big it is and beating them twice is a heck of a thing for our fans.
Q. In what ways can your offense better adjust when facing an all-out blitz like the packages you saw against the Jets?
TS: We just have to block better. One of the things we tried to do during the course of that game was move the pocket a little bit. In trying to move the pocket, we didn't set the edge very well. When that happens you get pulled up and chased from the back. From our end, our execution has to be better. We had a really solid plan the first time we played them, and I thought our plan was good going into the second game, but they made some very good adjustments. They played a little bit better than we did in that area.
Q. Coach, we've seen so many quarterbacks get the ball out quickly in the face of a tough blitz. Do you have that in your offense?
TS: We had a couple of hot reads and sight adjustments against the Jets but the protections they were playing didn't marry with the reads we had. You saw in the beginning of the game we had Brian Hartline down the middle of the field and we just missed him. That was against an all-out pressure. That defense is designed to get beat in chunks, not in quick throws.
Q. A word about Ted Ginn and how you hope he can build off his performance against the Jets.
TS: First of all, I was very pleased for Ted. We preach an awful lot about mental toughness here and he did a tremendous job showing his mental toughness in that game. He faced a lot of adversity during the course of the week and he came out and answered his critics. But more importantly, it was just a good day for Ted. He made big plays, and that's why he is on our team. Ted is a confidence type of player like most skill players are. With Ted in this situation, I believe he will continue to grow and hopefully we can feed him the ball a little bit more.
Q. You've already played the only two remaining undefeated teams in the league in Indy and New Orleans. Now you get New England. Is it safe to say that as you hit midseason, your football team has been well tested?
TS: I would say yes. We've played in some hard fought battles against some very good teams. Early in the season, you just don't know how good teams are one way or another. I remember playing San Diego at the beginning of last season. After we beat them, people said they didn't do too well early, but they always finish strong. But we knew that was a good team when we played them and that proved to be correct. Well, we are playing good football teams right now. You can see that by the way those teams are playing against other teams. When you play good teams and you play well, you're definitely being tested.
Q. What kind of intensity level have you seen this week heading into this Patriots game?
TS: I've seen very good focus. The Patriots give you an awful lot to prepare for. I've been asked a lot about the differences in preparing for the Patriots, the Saints and Indianapolis. I think the Patriots give you the most to prepare for, the most personnel groupings, the most formations, things like that. I mean on both sides of the ball. Preparing for these guys, sometimes you don't think you have enough hours in the day.
Q. Is there a specific message to the players at 3-4?
TS: The message is that we put ourselves into this mess and we're the only people to get us out of it. From our standpoint, we're going to continue to fight and scratch to get out of this hole. The other message is that we can't ignore the signs. We need to get better in the fourth quarter of games. We need to finish better. We need to sustain drives. There are things we need to correct that way.
Q. You know Tom Brady is going to come after your young cornerbacks. How do you prepare them for the type of things that Brady will throw at you?
TS: Sometimes you have to put those guys out there and have confidence in them to play the coverage. You can give them help on occasion, but a lot of it comes down to making plays one-on-one. You have to be careful with the Patriots how you pick your poison. You can try to stop one guy and the next thing you know Wes Welker is going crazy out there. You stop Welker and Randy Moss has a big day. From our end, we just have to be disciplined and maybe harass Brady and hope he gets rid of the ball fast.
Q. Talk about was it would mean to your team to come out with another win heading into the second half of the season?
TS: It would be a huge win for us. To say we went back-to-back, going to the Meadowlands and New England and being able to win two football games in the division would put us in a really good spot going into the second half of the season.
Q. It is just about midseason; what have you learned about your team in the first half of the year?
TS: I've learned that my team is tough. I've learned they are a physical football team. I've learned that this is a football team that gives me signs all the time. I can't ignore those signs. I have to make sure I address those issues and those signs so we understand what we need to work on.
Q. What is your opinion in general if your players like to talk trash the week of a game or at any time, for that matter? Do you discourage it? Are there rules about it?
TS: There are no rules. I believe in picking your spots. When I think something is out of control, I address it. My team knows that. I don't just let things go. I'm not fond of talking trash. I don't think it settles anything. I don't think there's a place for it, I really don't. The only way you settle things is in the arena. If there's talking to be done, it should be done by the way you play. I understand that it's part of the game during the game. I've been on the sideline at games and I've had people talk trash to me. I've had players talk trash to me, and I wasn't even a head coach at that point. Players like to talk. You can go through a whole game and not hear a word out of some players. I like that.
|
